LAKSAMANA.Net, May 23, 2004 11:58 PM
Review - Politics: Gloves Come Off
Laksamana.Net - National Awakening Party (PKB) leader Alwi Shihab disclosed to a
media conference on Thursday (20/5/04) just what went on behind closed doors when
the presidential election bill was being deliberated. Shihab said a compromise was
agreed between the parties to provide openings for all possible presidential candidates
to join the race, including lowering the stringent health requirements for Abdurrahman
'Gus Dur' Wahid, who is almost blind.
"There was a compromise made that a candidate would not be required to hold a
bachelor degree so that Megawati could join the race, the word 'defendant' was
dropped to accommodate Akbar Tanjung, the 15% electoral threshold was lowered to
only 3% for Amien Rais and the article on health requirements was to be modified for
Gus Dur," Shihab told the conference at the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) head office.
Golkar leader Tanjung was found guilty in a graft case when the presidential bill was
being debated. The Supreme Court acquitted him in February, though he lost to
former military chief Gen. (ret) Wiranto in the party's convention to select its
presidential aspirant.
The National Mandate Party (PAN) nominated its leader Rais for the presidency, after
the party won 7% of the vote.
"It was a gentleman's agreement that must be respected by all parties involved."
Shihab said.
End of the Road
The East Java branch of Nadhlatul Ulama (NU) has pledged to support incumbent
President Megawati Sukarnoputri and NU chairman Hashim Muzadi. The province is
the main stronghold of NU, the largest Muslim organization in the country
However, on Thursday (20/5/04), Abdurrahman Wahid, former general chairman of NU,
held a closed-door meeting with respected NU cleric Abdullah Abbas in the West Java
town of Cirebon, following which he said he would go ahead with his presidential bid,
due to support from the prominent clerics. "Most clerics are behind me," he said.
Unfortunately for the deposed president however, the general elections commission
(KPU) was not behind him. On Saturday (22/5/04) commission member Anas
Urbaningrum announced that Gus Dur failed to meet all the requirements as stipulated
by commission's regulations.
NU Lays Down the Law
Acting chairman of the NU, Masdar F. Masoedi, has prohibited all NU leaders,
including those of affiliated bodies, from making statements supporting any
presidential or vice presidential candidates in the upcoming election. He told NU
leaders Monday (17/5/04) that they could not be active in the organization as soon as
they were officially registered as campaign team members of presidential candidates.
"Leaders of NU and autonomous bodies (under NU) are not allowed to issue
statements supporting presidential or vice presidential candidates on behalf of the
organization." Masdar said. The decision was taken during a meeting of NU's Syuriah
Council in the Central Java town of Rembang.
The deputy chairman of NU's board of patrons, Fachrudin Masturo, adviser Mustofa
Bisri and members Fuad Hasyim, Said Agil Siradj Al Munawar, Thohal Hasan,
Masdar, Manarul Hidayat, Fahri Toha and Chotibul Umam Wiranu attended the
meeting.
The decision to suspend Hasyim and other NU leaders who are involved in the
presidential campaign was made to maintain the neutrality of NU, which has around
40 million members across the country.
Religious Affairs Minister Said Agil and NU deputy chairman Ahmad Bagja must
agree to be non-active to meet the ruling, as they are officially registered as members
of the campaign management for Megawati and Muzadi.
Masdar said the ban applied to leaders of NU and autonomous bodies under the
organization, including Ansor, Muslimat, IPNU, IPPNU, and Lakpesdam NU, from
their central boards down to the grassroots level.
NU leader Solahuddin Wahid, the younger brother of former president Abdurrahman
"Gus Dur" Wahid, earlier resigned voluntarily from his post in NU to run for the vice
presidential post under Golkar. Another NU member, Jusuf Kalla, is running under the
Democratic Party, which has chosen Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as its presidential
candidate.
Solah Defends Wiranto
Golkar 's vice presidential candidate Solahuddin Wahid (Gus Solah) defended running
mate Wiranto on Wednesday (19/5/04), when pointing out that the National
Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) had no proof the retired general had
committed any human rights violations.
A joint fact-finding team announced on November 3, 1998, that individuals within the
armed forces took an active role in inciting the May 1998 riots. The team also
confirmed the occurrence of rape and sexual assault during the violence.
Speaking after a discussion with the Association of Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals
(ICMI), Wahid, who is a deputy chairman of the association and who recently resigned
as deputy chief of Komnas HAM, said he had handed over all the evidence he had
gathered on the riots to the House of Representatives and the Attorney General's
Office.
"It is now up to them to decide. But from all the evidence the commission has
gathered, Wiranto is innocent of gross human rights violations," said Wahid.
The team had attempted to subpoena several senior military officers, including
Wiranto, but they simply ignored the summons.
Komnas HAM presented a 16-page report on the riots to then Attorney General
Marzuki Darusman, a deputy leader of Golkar, on January 31, 2000, urging that
Wiranto, along with 33 other high-ranking officers, be investigated for his failure to
ensure security. However, a list of suspects later released by the Attorney General's
Office did not include Wiranto.
No Sense of Nationality
A United Nations-sponsored East Timor tribunal recently issued an arrest warrant for
Wiranto for alleged crimes against humanity before and after a referendum in the
former Indonesian province in 1999. About 1,400 people were killed during the
mayhem.
Wiranto was the TNI commander when the violence erupted but Wahid, who was also
a deputy chairman of the 40-million strong Nahdlatul Ulama before resigning recently,
said Indonesia had to resolve its own problems and should not be dictated to by
foreign countries. "We must not follow certain groups that are being directed by
foreign interests. These people have no sense of nationality," he said.
Yudhoyono Pledges to Fight Graft
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is leading the opinion polls, has promised to
improve the country's investment climate and combat endemic corruption should he
be elected. In an interview with the Financial Times. Yudhoyono, who left the cabinet
in March, said he wanted "peace, justice, and prosperity" for the country.
"Our priority is job creation, poverty reduction, and rebuilding our infrastructure," he
said. "It means we need more growth and we need more investment. Our task is to
create a better climate for investors."
"We have to improve the quality, the ethics, the procedures of the security sector, the
courts and the police," the retired general said Thursday (20/5/04).
Yudhoyono sought to distance himself from his main opponent, Wiranto, and the
military in general, when saying he hated "militarism" and claiming credit for drafting a
"blueprint for military reform" following Suharto's fall.
Golkar Slams Minister
Golkar leaders have accused Jacob Nuwa Wea, the Minister of Manpower and
Transmigration, of funding a negative campaign against their presidential candidate,
Wiranto. Golkar deputy chairman Slamet Effendy Yusuf said the party was
considering a lawsuit against the PDI-P executive for "plotting and funding" a student
rally against Wiranto on May 12.
Wea denied the accusations and said he could explain it all to Wiranto and Golkar. "I
will be glad to clarify it to Wiranto if Golkar wants me to do so," he told reporters
Wednesday (19/5/04).
The anti-Wiranto rally marked the anniversary of the May 12, 1998 shooting incident,
which claimed the lives of four Trisakti University students who were attending a
demonstration against then president Suharto at their campus in Grogol, West
Jakarta.
Representatives of 26 student groups attended and Nuwa Wea has been accused of
providing Rp16 million ($1,778) for each group. Yusuf claimed that he knew of a
document about a meeting hosted by Nuwa Wea at his official residence on May 6 to
plan the rally.
Wea said he regularly received guests, including students and PDI-P supporters "and
it is very often I provide them with financial support. They are my friends and they
support our leadership and PDI-P. Is it wrong if I give them financial aid to cover their
transportation expenses?" he said, conceding that a group of students came to his
official residence on May 6.
"I received them and chatted with them for three to five minutes and then I let them go
and we did not discuss the anti-Wiranto rally. Nuwa Wea also admitted giving some
money to the students from his monthly emergency fund.
The Money Train
Not only student groups will benefit financially during the one-month presidential
campaign period due to begin on June 1. Presidential candidates are set to spend
billions of rupiah in seeking financing from supporters and the business community,
with some coming from their own pockets.
Amien Rais and Siswono Yudhohusodo of the National Mandate Party (PAN) have
said they need some Rp160 billion ($17.7 million) to fund their campaign. Siswono
said Thursday (20/5/04) that almost 30% of the funds would be from his own pocket
and the rest would come from supporters through the party's bank account.
The two runners from the Democrat Party, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Jusuf
Kalla, are to seek support from the business community to raise the Rp100 billion
they reckon they will need for campaign funds.
The United Development Party (PPP) thinks it can raise a massive Rp500 billion
campaign fund for candidates Vice President Hamzah Haz and Minister of
Communication Agum Gumelar, the party's team manager Endin J. Soefihara said
Thursday, adding "we will maximize all potential sources in our party to finance the
campaign."
The major contenders, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the
Golkar Party have yet to announce the extent of their campaign funds.
Bali Bombers Refuse to Testify
Terrorism-related issues are rarely out of the news these days, and last week was no
exception. Three brothers who played key roles in the Bali bomb attacks refused to
testify in the scheduled trial of Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, the militant Muslim cleric accused
of terrorism, Ba'asyir's lawyer Achmad Michdan said Thursday (20/5/04).
Imron has been sentenced to life for his role in the Bali bomb attacks that killed 202
people in October 2002. His two elder brothers -- Amrozi and Ali Ghufron alias
Mukhlas -- are on death row for their part in the blasts.
Michdan said police have compiled a list of about 50 witnesses to testify in the trial of
Ba'asyir, who police say will face charges of terrorism. "Almost all those convicted in
the Bali bombings are to testify in the trial," Michdan said.
Imron and several other convicts have been moved from their jails to Jakarta police
cells as detectives prepare their case against Ba'asyir, 65.
Michdan said police are also seeking testimony from Abu Rusdan, who has been
sentenced to more than three years in jail for acting as caretaker leader of the
Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) regional extremist group. Police have questioned Rusdan in
connection with terrorism charges leveled at Ba'asyir.
Michdan also said the police were likely to reject a request to release Ba'asyir's
alleged subordinate, Abu Jibril, from custody due to health concerns. Jibril has been
in the police custody after being deported from Malaysia for document forgery.
Seven Years for Marriott Bomber
A judicial panel of the South Jakarta District Court sentenced defendant Muhammad
Rais Tuesday (18/5/04) to seven years imprisonment for being an accessory in the
bombing of the J.W. Marriott Hotel in South Jakarta on August 5, 2003. The blast
ripped through the hotel, killing 12 people and injuring 147 others. The victims were
mostly Indonesians, including six drivers, and a Dutch banker.
In their verdict, the judges ruled that the 29-year-old Rais was guilty of helping two
main suspects who are still at large, Dr. Azahari bin Husin and Noordin M. Top, to
gather, store and transport the explosive materials that caused the explosion.
"The defendant has violated Article 15 of Law No.15/2003 on terrorism by assisting
and facilitating the perpetrators of an act of terrorism to commit their crime," said
presiding judge Johannes Eter Binti.
Rais is the second Marriott bombing suspect to be convicted. Sardona Siliwangi was
sentenced in February to 10 years in prison by the Bengkulu District Court for storing
the explosive materials that were later used to make the bomb.
Tempo Ordered to Say Sorry
The East Jakarta District Court ordered Tempo media group co-founder and senior
journalist Goenawan Mohamad Monday (17/5/04) to print a public apology to
well-connected tycoon Tomy Winata for his statements deemed libelous published
last year in the Koran Tempo daily.
The court ruled the defendants guilty of defaming Winata and of violating the principle
of presumed innocence. The defendants in the civil lawsuit are Goenawan, Koran
Tempo and the daily's publisher, PT Tempo Inti Media Harian.
Judges ordered the defendants to run the apology on the front pages of Koran Tempo
and Kompas dailies for two consecutive days.
The judges even specified the size of the advertisement and ordered a fine of Rp10
million ($1,111) for each day the defendants failed to fulfill the court order.
The court, however, rejected Winata's demand for Rp1 billion compensation for
material losses and Rp20 billion for non-material losses. It also annulled the asset
preservation order on Goenawan's house in Pulo Mas, East Jakarta, which Winata
had requested previously.
The judges said expert witnesses had convinced them that Goenawan's statements
contained defamatory remarks against Winata.
"As the defendant is a prominent public figure, while Koran Tempo is a well-known
daily, any statements from him and their publication by the daily would have an
immense effect on the public," Sangadji said, adding that the articles in question had
been displayed in an eye-catching format. Goenawan and Tempo lawyer Todung
Mulya Lubis told the court they would appeal the ruling.
US Not Qualified to Judge
The government has hit back at what many countries see as the sheer duplicity of the
US when commenting on human rights matters elsewhere. The US State Department
released its annual country report on human rights in February, which criticized
Indonesia, as it does every year, for its human rights record.
"The US government does not have the moral authority to assess or act as a judge of
other countries, including Indonesia, on human rights, especially after the abuse
scandal at Iraq's Abu Ghraib Prison," Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Marty
Natalegawa said Friday (21/5/04).
Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra also condemned the reports. He earlier called the
Bush administration "a useless friend".
Natalegawa said it was regrettable the reports gave the impression that improvement
in human rights in various countries were the fruit of US efforts. "Whatever our
improvement, it is due to our own efforts... The reports provided moral satisfaction to
the US, as though it had done its best to promote human rights in 101 countries."
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